Mallott was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Alaska in 2014,[3] until he agreed to merge his campaign with that of Independent candidate Bill Walker and become Walker's running mate. Walker and Mallott won the election and were sworn in on December 1, 2014. In 2018, Mallott abruptly resigned after it was discovered he made inappropriate overtures to a woman.

His political career began unexpectedly in 1965. His father, who served as Yakutat's mayor for the vast majority of the position's existence (Yakutat incorporated as a city in 1948),[5] died. He left college and returned to Yakutat, running to replace him, and won election.[4] He was 22 years old at the time.[6] He left office before the expiration of his term, taking a job in the office of GovernorBill Egan towards the end of Egan's first governorship. His job in the governor's office was focused on local government affairs, one of the few constitutionally mandated executive functions in Alaska.[4]

After Egan was defeated for re-election by Walter Hickel in 1966, Mallott returned to Yakutat and served on the city council. He also served as a special assistant to U.S. Senator Mike Gravel during the early part of Gravel's first term.[7]

After Egan was elected back to the governorship in 1970, Mallott went back to work in his office in 1971, where he was in charge of local affairs. This office was absorbed into the Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs when the legislature created the department the following year. Mallott became the department's first commissioner, serving until 1974.

During the 1970s, Mallott became a director of the newly formed Sealaska Corporation, eventually serving as chairman of the board, as well as president and CEO of the corporation. He retired from Sealaska as CEO in 1992.[6]

Mallott became the executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation in 1995.[4] He had previously served on the corporation's board for eight years, including three years as chairman.[4] He had also established a permanent fund for Sealaska shareholders during his tenure there, which had grown to a net worth of $100 million by the late 1990s.[6]

Incumbent mayor Jamie Parsons declined to seek re-election in 1994 after one term in office.[8] Mallott was elected mayor of Juneau in that municipality's 1994 general election. He resigned the office a little over three months into his term, after he was chosen to head the APFC. Mallott faced harsh criticism when he initially announced that he could handle serving in both positions, leading to changing his mind and resigning the mayoral position. Mallott was succeeded as mayor by deputy mayor Dennis Egan.

Mallott announced on September 2, 2013, that he was running for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Alaska in the 2014 election.[11] He won the Democratic gubernatorial primary with 80% of the vote on August 19, 2014.[3]

Alaska National Guard receives new commanding general

Independent candidate Bill Walker and Mallott merged their campaigns on September 2 to appear on the November ballot as one independent campaign, which the Alaska Democratic Party endorsed. On this ticket, Walker ran for Governor with Mallott as his running mate. Both candidates' respective prior running mates withdrew.[12] They won the election on November 4, 2014, as there was a recount due to a close election result.

In 2017, Walker and Mallott registered to run for re-election on an independent ticket. Despite running for reelection as an independent, Mallott maintained his Democratic Party registration.[1]

They faced the Republican ticket headed by state senator Mike Dunleavy and the Democratic ticket headed by former senator Mark Begich, until Mallott's resignation from office on October 16 and Bill Walker's eventual campaign suspension on October 19 (Walker briefly ran with acting lieutenant governor Valerie Davidson after Mallott resigned).[13]

Byron Mallott has been married for several decades to Antoinette "Toni" Mallott,[7] a retired schoolteacher who spent most of her career teaching elementary grades in the Juneau School District. They have five children. Byron and Toni Mallott currently live in the West Juneau neighborhood of Juneau, located on Douglas Island near downtown Juneau.